Retirement

Monthly Archives: February 2017

Remember the acronym ROMEO I refer to from time to time? The group of men from Brookdale Imperial Plaza? Well, I guess all of you could tell from my writings that I really loved being out once a month with the guys. There are only around a dozen of us that do this and we really enjoy eating and drinking together. All men with jibs on each other and language to boot. I’ve been here a little over three years and have been on thirty nine out of forty outings.

ROMEO…Retired Old Men Eating Out. Before now, the only two men that were not old nor retired were the bus driver and the Activities Guide. That was before the last two. The last two have had a woman or two and a non-resident young male. RETIRED OLDMEN EATING OUT. It was great saying what you wanted to say, the way you wanted to say it and everyone understood and did not get offended. They understood the old way of speaking and how to rib someone. No explanation necessary. Cursing was not a no-no because no one but us guys were there.

The last two outings had women. The first one was from the Activities Dept. because she said she always wanted to eat at that particular place. The last time was because our normal man, from the Activities Dept., had to drive the bus (short of bus drivers) therefore a female from the Activities Dept. was selected because that is all there is. In the past, the activities guy driving the bus had been the driver, tour guide and aide all rolled into one. That was then but not this time. Then, when we get there the other female joins us. Then in walks her boyfriend. We had to make room for him.

The only place to make room was beside me therefore I was jammed in beside them and small talk was made with them. The usual banter with light jibs was never made and, it seem to me, tense. We ate, got on the bus and returned to Imperial Plaza. By the time I got home (I stopped outside for a while to smoke a cigar) my wife knew I was sitting with the women. That was not a problem, considering who the women were. The wives always kidded us about the time we returned. It was a standing joke that we needed a written excuse to get into the house if we were running late that evening. Most times we were late but it was always the usual laughable joke. Never who we were with or what we talked about.

The group’s name is ROMEO and I will drop out until it comes back to an all male group. That is what I signed up for. I did not sign up for a mixed group. I can do that with my wife and have even more pleasure. There will not be any telling of what I did or that I was sitting with the women because she is with me. I can stay as long as I like because she is with me. I can go back to being a loner and not the point of speculation. Good-bye ROMEO! Or is it now PEO People Eating Out?

It is great to have an alarm clock, but here at Imperial Plaza I don’t think I need one for the normal getting up in the morning. It is normal at around 7:30am, Monday through Friday, to hear a leaf blower cleaning the sidewalks and streets. Therefore, for that time of morning I do not need a manual alarm clock, only for very early appointments. Even with the windows closed I can still hear the leaf blower and I am on the seventh floor. It is still loud.

Then between 8am and 8:30am the trash truck comes to pick up from the dumpster. I hear the beep, beep, beep of the backup alarm and I hear the hydraulics of the truck raising the dumpster. Then I hear the clanging of the trash being dumped from the dumpster into the truck. The next thing I hear, which really gets to me, is the truck backing up, loudly beeping all the way. And all of this noise is from the building beside mine. The truck then comes to my building and the noise starts all over again, only closer. I don’t need an alarm clock with all of this going on.

I am well aware that all of this is necessary. I am also acutely aware of how immaculate our lawns and streets are. The trash rarely fills to overflowing, except on a long holiday weekend or someone moving in or out. Who can complain about that? With me and my wife always going to bed late I guess we will have to put up with the morning noise. It’s a small price to pay for the enjoyment that we get afterward. I will never complain about it because I do not want Brookdale Imperial Plaza’s Management making drastic changes and mess up the good thing that we are having. Retirement is beautiful and I want to keep it that way.

I remember when I had my house I had to do all of the work myself. Once or twice a week I had to drag my trash cans from the back of the house and put it on the edge of the curb for trash pickup. When he came to lawn care, I did all of it including the bushes and hedges. How can I gripe about having it all done for me at no cost. My grandmother and my mother used to constantly say “do not look a gift horse in the mouth”. This is truly a gift horse and I’m trying hard not to look at it and pout. I am thankful for what I have and don’t want to mess it up for anything.

Thinking about timing, it is ironic, while trying to get this done, testing of the fire alarm was being done. There wasn’t a notice that this was to occur where usually we would have some type of warning. Then again, the warning that was usually given was inadequate. We usually have a testing once a month at 10am in the morning. The notice for the morning test is usually put out the day before, or it should be but, I have been complaining ever since I’ve been here, that notice usually go out in the wee hours of the morning (night?). Everyone is asleep when the notice comes out and, if you don’t check your message box in front of your door when you wake up early, you will not get the notice. When the alarm sounds you will be wondering if it is real or not. I usually look out my door into the hallway to see if a notice is in my message box. If a message is not there, then the alarm is real. If a message is there, then it is a test. I am usually already up and messing about because the leaf blower and the trash truck have already sounded an alarm (LOL).

So, here at if Imperial Plaza, there are all sorts of alarm clocks. This have only been three out of a few others I can think of. However, it is better than when I had a house and had to do all of this myself. Now, as I have a cup of coffee and look out my window, I can say those were the days when I had to do all of that myself. I smile as I reminisce. (slurp…aaahhh)